The P3 Center

Center Research Published in Transport Policy

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

“Understanding Project Cancellation Risks in U.S. P3 Surface Transportation Infrastructure”

The U.S. public sector has become increasingly interested in attracting private sector resources via public-private partnerships (P3s) when financing and delivering surface transportation and transit projects. Nevertheless, poorly managed political and economic risks have potential to drive P3 projects into contract renegotiations, bankruptcies, early contract terminations, deferrals, and, in the most extreme cases, outright cancellations. In response, this research explores the link between political risks, exogenous economic conditions, and project outcomes within the increasingly strained U.S. surface transportation P3 market. Specifically, the paper investigates how frequently P3 projects get cancelled, deferred, or terminated (CDT) and why.

The authors compiled a dataset coving the whole U.S. surface transportation P3 project population (68 projects), including information on project stages and associated CDT risks. Data collection efforts focused on primary data sources available from government agencies, project documentation, and specialized news sources. Risk factors were coded into four categories: bureaucratic complexity (intergovernmental conflicts, inadequate contract terms); public voice (local opposition, ideological opposition), political voice (political transitions, legislative change, political opposition), and economic complications. Of the 68 projects examined, 37% were cancelled, 3% were deferred, and 6% had their contracts terminated early. Overall, these CDTs made up 46% of all U.S. surface transportation P3 projects.

Political risks contributed to 19 of 25 project cancellations, 1 out of 2 deferrals, and 2 out of 4 early terminations. Bureaucratic complexity influenced several database cases but was not as common as other risk factors. When they occurred, inadequate contract terms tended to generate destructive power imbalances within partnerships or legal vulnerabilities that voided project terms. Multi-level governance influenced intergovernmental conflicts, but also allowed for decentralized input and decision-making from several levels of government. Learning across the industry and within government may explain the low frequency of bureaucratic complexity in recent years.

Local and ideological opposition to environmental impacts, noise pollution, and eminent domain seizures appeared frequently among the CDTs, along with anti-corporate mistrust and opposition to project costs. Public voice often produced political activity and/or compounded economic complications to undermine the database projects. Jurisdictions with strong public voice traditions should prioritize public engagement when pursuing large scale investment decisions in their communities. In addition, projects with high environmental risks were frequently subject to both public and ideological opposition. In cases where ideological opposition is present, better due diligence is needed to fully assess whether a P3 approach is appropriate. This appears particularly important for complex P3 delivery models like DBFOM and DBOM contracts given their complex risk-sharing arrangements, project structures, potential benefits, and benefit schedules.

Economic risks contributed to 16 out of 25 cancellations, 1 out of 2 deferrals, and 3 out of 4 early terminations. Several database projects presented insufficient economic viability to reach completion, demonstrating how P3 delivery most likely cannot turn an unviable project into a viable one. In addition, even well-developed projects failed under unfavorable fiscal and/or market conditions. Improved due diligence, evaluation criteria, usage best practices, and competitive processes (public and private) appear critical for successful P3 project selection and for avoiding the business-practice and competitiveness issues that can undermine otherwise promising projects. Ongoing sensitivity analyses for fiscal constraints, demand projections, and interest rate projections probably can also improve risk management. Finally, the high number of projects cancelled rather than deferred suggests that the market might benefit from better mechanisms for deferring projects until more advantageous economic conditions arise.

Ultimately, the study findings suggest that all four potential drivers – bureaucratic complexity, public voice, political voice, and economic complications – played a strong role in U.S. surface transportation P3 CDTs. The findings also suggest that troubled projects reflect broad economic and political risk management failures by both the public and the private sectors. Nevertheless, CDTs do not necessarily indicate inherent flaws in P3 projects or their deal structures. Political risk and/or economic factors might simply overwhelm an otherwise viable project. Overall, improved risk awareness and risk mitigation strategies, especially stronger due diligence and community engagement, might reduce CDTs in future.
For more information please contact: Lauren N. McCarthy lmccart5@gmu.edu

Citation:
Lauren N. McCarthy, Lisardo Bolaños, Jeong Yun Kweun, Jonathan Gifford. “Understanding project cancellation risks in U.S. P3 surface transportation infrastructure.” Transport Policy (2019) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.10.009.

Student Research Presented at ARTBA P3 Conference

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

In July 2019, Center Director Dr. Jonathan Gifford and Center GRA Eric Childress participated in the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) 31st Annual Public-Private Partnerships in Transportation Conference. Dr. Gifford moderated the July 19th breakout session, “Putting P3 Research into Action,” where “Candidates for advanced academic degrees share[d] their P3-related research with emerging leaders, with the shared objective of gaining more recognition for and positively influencing real-world projects through this important work among P3 practitioners.”

Student Research Presented at ARTBA P3 Conference

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

In July 2019, Center Director Dr. Jonathan Gifford and Center GRA Eric Childress participated in the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) 31st Annual Public-Private Partnerships in Transportation Conference. Dr. Gifford moderated the July 19th breakout session, “Putting P3 Research into Action,” where “Candidates for advanced academic degrees share[d] their P3-related research with emerging leaders, with the shared objective of gaining more recognition for and positively influencing real-world projects through this important work among P3 practitioners.”

Center says farewell to longtime fellow and research assistant

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

This summer the Center bid farewell to two longtime staff members. First, Lisardo Bolaños completed with his PhD and returned back to his home country of Guatemala. Lisardo contributed to many research documents and publications on P3s. As a longtime GRA for the Center he became a regular face at many conferences. He will be missed. We suggest keeping an eye out for his future activities – there is no doubt he will be up to great things! 

Second, we bid farewell to Motoki Murayama. Moto was a visiting scholar from NEXCO-Central, a Japanese major expressway company, and as a representative of the company. Moto was an important part of the team at the Center for Transportation Public-Private Partnership Policy from 2016-2019 and he will be missed. He has moved on to his next position and we are grateful for the ongoing support and relationship built between George Mason University and NEXCO-Central. 

Center Welcomes New Researchers

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

With the start of the 2019-2020 academic year, the Center welcomes two new GRAs from the Schar School of Policy and Government: Hyun Ju (Monica) Kim and Daniel Grimaldi. Ms. Kim’s research interests include safety net programs, gender equality, and household decision-making models. Prior to joining the Schar School doctoral program, she worked at US-Korea Institute at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. She assisted research on Official Development Assistance policy and P3 policy in South Korea. She holds M.A. in Public Policy from George Mason University and B.A. in Korean History from Korea University.   Before joining Schar School doctoral program, Daniel worked for the Brazilian Government for almost nine years, first as a researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea), and then as an economist at the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). As the leading impact evaluator of BNDES, he was responsible for structuring the institution’s M&E system and for developing several impact evaluations for its projects and policies. His main research interests are in credit policies and impact evaluation methods. He holds B.A in Economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of São Paulo.

Publication Alert

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

“U.S. Surface Transportation Public–Private Partnerships: Objectives and Evidence—Extended Findings” was published in the Transportation Research Record, following presentation at the 2019 TRB meeting. The paper is the second stage of analysis undertaken as part of the Evidence project.


Citation:

Bolaños, L., Transue, M., Wheeler, P., & Gifford, J. (2019). U.S. Surface Transportation Public–Private Partnerships: Objectives and Evidence—Extended Findings. Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119858280